Mandama Primary School is just down the road from my house, and I recently had the pleasure of meeting their art teacher, Lydia Woolf. We started dreaming together about making the school a more colourful, inspiring place and here’s our first project.
Lydia asked me to paint the exterior wall of her art room, and in Term 4 of 2025, I installed a gum nut–inspired design that the students were so excited to see.
A big thank you to the staff at Mandama Primary for inviting me to their school. I hope to be back soon to run workshops or bring more colour and creativity to the grounds.
Here’s what the students had to say when they saw it for the first time:
“It looks really good and I love it!”
“It brightens the school up and it’s really beautiful.”
“It took so much effort.”
“I love everything!”
“I think I’m going to draw a really pretty garden with some fairies.”
Seeing their reactions was the highlight, their excitement and creativity made all the painting worth it.
Geelong TImes
Leah Grant brings colour and creativity to classrooms